Missoula Personal Injury Blog

Medical errors can have long-lasting and dangerous consequences for patients receiving treatment in Montana. In fact, medical mistakes remain one of the leading causes of death in the United States as over 250,000 people die each year due to such errors. This means that reducing the number and severity of mistakes is critical for patient health and safety.

Because most treatment provided to patients is documented, omitted or incorrect information on a medical chart can lead to serious effects and later mistreatment. While digital records have been a major advance in medical technology, these advances could occasionally lead to medical errors that are more difficult to correct. In order to protect patients, it is important for nurses to record all relevant information, including food and drug allergies. If actions for a patient are not recorded, later shifts may make errors due to missing information.

When you first learned to drive, you likely experienced times when you felt nervous or afraid behind the wheel. With time, your comfort level may have increased until you reached the point where driving felt like second nature. The problem with getting too comfortable while driving is that it can lead to complacency, which is a common factor among many distracted driving accidents. You want to be comfortable, yes, but never so comfortable that you lose your focus on the task at hand.

There are several main types of distractions that most often lead to a collision. These include behaviors that are cognitive, manual or visual. Each of these distraction types may include complacency, however, and if you throw in fatigue, being in a hurry or feeling frustrated at other motorists, you've got a recipe for disaster. If you remain alert, focused and cautious, it increases your chances of safely reaching your destination. In the unfortunate case that a distracted driver causes you injury, it's crucial to know where to turn for help.

Generally speaking, a woman's heart isn't any weaker than a man's. Therefore, they should have similar odds of surviving a heart attack given similar treatment. However, women are three times more likely to die from a heart attack within one year of having it than is a man. Women in Montana and around the country are often not given the same type of treatment that a man is given when experiencing this health issue.

A survey conducted in Sweden found that women were 34 percent less likely to receive a bypass procedure and have stents inserted into their arteries. One reason may be because doctors don't necessarily know when a woman is having a heart attack. Instead of having pain in their chest, they may have cold sweats, nausea and fatigue. In a study conducted in 2000, women were approximately seven times more likely than men to have their heart attack misdiagnosed.

People in Montana and throughout the country may be increasingly treated using robots during diagnosis and surgery, and researchers say that this will lead to more positive outcomes. One of those devices is a 3D-printed robot that researchers say can enter an MRI chamber and do biopsies for suspected breast cancer. In tests that involved taking biopsies from model breasts, the robotic system was accurate to a sub-millimeter degree. Currently, breast biopsies are done using a larger needle; they may require several attempts and are less efficient.

The device, known as Stormram 4, is made of plastic since metal cannot be used in an MRI, and researchers use air pressure to control it. It will be several years before the device is approved: There must be further testing and development before it meets regulatory standards.